System for corporate travel planning and management

ABSTRACT

A client-server system for corporate travel planning, expense reporting and travel management that utilizes a corporate database server to enable accurate and timely pre-travel and post-travel decision making that is fed by a travel planning process and an expense reporting process, plus a SABRE data feed of all booked data and back office system data as well as a hand-off of exchange and void ticket information that comprises a Travel Planning module, a Travel Decision Maker module, and a Travel Expense Reporting module. The system uses a corporate database environment communicating with a real-time CRS data feed that enhances the Travel Planning module by offering the traveler live choices of air, car, and hotel availability based upon company travel policy as well as live access to current or company negotiated fares while also allowing the Travel Decision Maker module to make comparisons between booked information and actual current travel data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/951,630, filed Oct. 16, 1997, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/524,381, filed Sep. 6, 1995, now abandoned,which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to a travel and transportationinformation system, and in particular to, a client-server system thatcommunicates with an airline Computerized Reservation System and placestravel information directly in the hands of the corporate traveler.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Historically, corporate travel has often escaped the close scrutiny bymanagement that was used for every other function of the corporation.Travel dollars were seen as a necessary evil and were spent until thecorporate balance sheet showed more problem than promise. Recently,corporations have aggressively examined every process and paradigm tore-engineer and transform themselves into a lean and highly-productivecorporate machine that can support success and growth. As a result,travel dollars became one of the first expenses tightly controlled orcut.

Given that approximately $130 billion were spent on travel in 1994,Corporate Travel Managers are examining and implementing a variety ofsolutions to manage costs and change the aura that typically surroundscorporate travel expenses. For example, corporations have consolidatedtravel management in credit card services, published corporate travelpolicies, and mandated.the.use of preferred travel providers.

Corporate policies, however, that force a frequent traveler to sitthrough a two hour connection or stay in a less than mid-line hotel offthe beaten path have driven the typical frequent traveler to come upwith creative ways to circumvent the travel policy in order to meettheir own personal requirements. Frequent travelers are bypassing policyat every turn to maintain their productivity and to take advantage ofany perks that compensate them for long hours away from home. Thisscenario compounds the already huge information deficit Corporate TravelManagers are struggling to resolve including travelers' circumvention ofcorporate policy which results in travel data being totally lost.

From a corporate standpoint, travel has an impact on the traveler, theCorporate Travel Manager, the Department Manager, Accounts Payable andthe Corporation itself. The traveler seeks an easy and fast way toarrange travel. Under conventional methods however, the traveler mustarrange trips through a series of telephone conversations with a travelmanagement firm or agency. In addition, the traveler seeks an automatedexpense reporting system. Present methods which combine manual andautomated forms may require repetitive data input of previouslyrequested travel information for report presentation. In addition, theapproval and reimbursement of expenses is typically manual.

The Corporate Travel Manager needs a true summary of the total corporatetravel expenses by category. Presently, the Corporate Travel Manager mayestimate travel expenses and category breakdowns based upon reportinformation from Travel Management Firms, corporate credit cardcompanies, or preferred vendors. These estimates may be inaccurate,however, if the traveler made on-the-road trip changes, did not complywith usage of corporate travel agencies or credit card, or stayed in ahotel that is not the same as the one which was booked. Corporate TravelManagers must also stay informed as to the status of preferred vendoragreements. Historically, summaries of the corporation's actual marketshare performance was provided by travel management firms or thepreferred vendor. These summaries, however, were typically not providedon a timely basis, provided minimal information on a pre-travel basis,and provided no method for self-validation of performance.

Department managers need pre-travel reporting of travel expenses andpossible violations of travel policy. Presently, random manualnotification of policy violations is provided by travel management firmsto the Corporate Travel Manager. Typically, this notification isinsufficient or not timely enough to allow Department Managers toenforce corporate policy on a pre-travel basis. Department Managers alsodesire an automated expense reporting system. Current methods requiremanual processing of approval and reimbursements of expenses byDepartment Managers.

Accounts Payable desires an automated processing system for expensereports. Current methods require manual auditing, posting, and paymentsof expense reports.

Many of the limitations on the current corporate travel planning andmanagement systems stem from the corporate traveler's dependence ontravel management firms. Travel management firms currently function asthe central hub for all travel service and information regarding travelfor the corporate traveler. There is a total reliance on the travelmanagement firm by the travelers for trip planning and management aswell as by the Corporate Travel Managers for summary reporting.

Therefore, a need has arisen for a corporate travel planning andmanagement system which operates on a corporate database environmentthat allows automated travel planning from a corporate traveler'sdesktop, pre-travel decision support to inform a corporation of plannedtravel expenditures before corporate dollars are spent, and automatedexpense reporting.

SUMMARY

The present invention comprises a client-server system for corporatetravel planning and management which operates on a corporate databaseenvironment, comprising desktop LAN software as well as a TravelPlanning module and a Travel Expense Reporting module which togetherprovide solutions for two of the manual and most costly areas ofcorporate business travel management. The two modules may coexist asfully-functional, stand-alone modules or be integrated into a TravelDecision Maker module creating a comprehensive travel management system.

The Travel Planning module of the present invention provides thecorporate traveler with a desktop system that provides a graphical userinterface to real-time Computerized Reservation Service (CRS) Data forefficient travel planning and booking. The system targets two of themost prevalent types of corporate trips, the simple 2-4 segment tripsthat include air, car, and hotel accommodations as well as the common orrepeat trip, estimated at 40%-70% of all corporate travel.

The Travel Planning module interacts with locally stored traveler andcorporate profiles in a relational database that function as filtersagainst real-time CRS Data output to ensure the appropriate corporatevendor preferences are displayed to and booked by the corporatetraveler. The present invention enables the traveler to complete theentire booking process, which results in the creation of a Personal NameRecord (PNR), or to create a PNR with a booking request which a travelagency completes.

The Travel Expense Reporting module of the present invention provides tothe traveler's desktop a system that automates the preparation of travelexpense reports. The system also automates the routing of expense reportto assure appropriate authorization, accurate expense reimbursement andtimely posting of expense totals to a corporation's general ledger.

In addition, the present invention provides automated summary reportingof the actual costs of corporate travel. The reporting is enabled by therelational database, which resides in the corporate environment, thattracks all data from the expense report process and provides comparisonsto yearly vendor market share contracts and budgets. A number ofautomated reports are provided to both the Corporate Travel Manager andDepartment-level Managers to enable timely and proactive management ofcorporate resources.

The Travel Decision Maker module of the present invention incorporatesinformation that results from the Trip Planning and Expense Reportingmodules to enable comprehensive pre-travel and post-travel reporting forCorporate Travel Managers and Department Managers. The Pre-travel andpost-travel information that feeds the Travel Decision Makers module isintegrated into a relational database via the travel planning andexpense reporting processes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, includingits features and advantages, reference is now made to the detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of the platform of the present inventionas it may look in a corporation;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of the modules of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of the system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is more detailed block diagrams of the trip planning system ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is more detailed block diagrams of the update static tablessystem of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is more detailed block diagrams of the update static tablessystem of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is more detailed block diagrams of the interface manager systemof FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is more detailed block diagrams of the pre-trip management systemof FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is more detailed block diagrams of the utilities function systemof FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is more detailed block diagrams of the expense reporting systemof FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is more detailed block diagrams of the post-trip managementsystem of FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is more detailed block diagrams of the post-trip managementsystem of FIG. 3;

FIG. 13 is more detailed block diagrams of the post-trip managementsystem of FIG. 3;

FIG. 14, consisting of 14A-14X, is a series of graphical user interfacesfor scheduling a trip;

FIG. 15, consisting of 15A-15G, is a series of graphical user interfacesfor scheduling repeat trips; and

FIG. 16, consisting of 16A-16M, is a series of graphical user interfacesfor creating an expense report.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The client-server system of the present invention for corporate travelplanning and management 10 is shown in simplified platform diagram formin FIG. 1. The client interface of the present invention may be deployedon any conventional personal computer or client workstation 12, runninga suitable operating system such as Windows, OS\2, or MacIntosh. Theclient workstation 12 is in communication with an E-mail server 14 via aconventional network connection 16. The E-mail system may operate anystandard E-mail protocol such as VIM or MAPI. The client workstation 12is in communication with a corporate database server 18 via networkconnection 20. The corporate database server 18 may operate any openrelational database environment such as Oracle or Sybase. The corporatedatabase server 18 may be a pentium (NT), or Unix having 32-64 MB ofmemory.

A department manager workstation 22 is in communication with the E-mailserver 14 the via network connection 16 and the corporate databaseserver 18 via the network connection 20. The department managerworkstation 22 may be any conventional personal computer with a suitableoperating system as specified above. The travel manager workstation 24is in communication with the E-mail server 14 via network connection 16and in communication with the corporate database server 18 via thenetwork connection 20. The travel manager workstation 24 may be aconventional 486 personal computer having 16 MB RAM of memory.

The E-mail server 14 is in communication with any conventional travelagency 26 via a telecommunication link 28. The telecommunication link 28preferably consists of high speed modems and telephone lines or theequivalent thereof. The travel agency 26 is in communication with anyairline computerized reservation system such as American Airlines' SABREComputerized Reservation System 30 via a telecommunication link 32. Thecorporate database server 18 communicates with the gateway 34 using aTCP\IP sockets interface, which is the industry standard cross-platforminterprocess communication protocol. The gateway 34 will provide aGeneralized Data Stream (GDS) style request and reply interface with theCRS 30 via telecommunication link 36.

A simplified block diagram of the corporate travel planning andmanagement system generally designated 38 is represented in FIG. 2. Thecorporate centric client-server system 38 comprises Travel Planningmodule 40, Travel Expense Reporting module 42, and Travel Decision Makermodule 44. From the client workstation 12, the Travel Planning module 40receives and sends availability, fare and booking data 46 from the CRS30. The Travel Planning module 40 receives policies and preferences data48 from the corporate database 18 and sends authorization request data50 to the corporate database 18. The Travel Expense Reporting module 42receives trip and card data 52 and expense policy data 54 from thecorporate database 18. The Travel Expense Reporting module 42 sendsexpense detail data 56 and summary expense totals 58 to the corporatedatabase 18. The Travel Decision Maker module 44 receives pre-tripbooking data 60 and actual expenses data 62 from the corporate database18. The Travel Decision Maker module 44 receives GDS data 64 from theCRS 30. The Travel Decision Maker module 44 sends trip record data 66 tothe corporate database 18.

A simplified block diagram of the functional elements of the corporatecentric client-server system 38 is depicted in FIG. 3. The functionalelements comprise trip planning 68, update static tables 70, interfacemanager 72, pre-trip management 74, utility functions 76, security 78,expense reporting 80, and post-trip management 82.

Turning now to FIG. 4, the trip planning 68 of FIG. 3 is described ingreater detail. The first step in trip planning 68 is a trip requestprocess 84. Entry into the trip request process 84 can be done by eitherthe corporate traveler 86 or by a corporate travel arranger (notpictured). The trip request process 84 may also be backfilled through aCRS PNR download if the trip originated with a telephone request. TheCorporate traveler 86 must enter an employee number 88 and the tripparameters 90 during the trip request process 84. After the trip requestprocess 84 has been initiated, the employee record data 92 is retrievedfrom the employee profile database 94 located in the corporate database18. The corporate travel policy data 96 from the corporate travel policydatabase 98 located in the corporate database 18 is also downloadedduring the trip request process 84. The employee profile database 94includes information such as seat preferences, special meals, frequentflier, account numbers, hotels, car rental, connecting flights, andairline equipment preferences.

The next step in trip planning 68 is the build itinerary process 100.The build itinerary process 100 allows the traveler 86 to enter basictrip parameters and either request a booking or make a booking withdirect access to CRS 30 availability and fare information or allows thetraveler 86 to pull up saved, repeat itinerary data 102 from the repeatintinerary file database 104 and provide a new departure date andautofilled trip parameters for use in an availability display. Forroutine trips, the traveler 86 may fill the trip parameters section fromstored repeat itinerary data 106 and subsequently add, modify or deletesegments for the itinerary of a specific trip.

For standard or non-routine trips, the build intinerary process 100allows the traveler 86 to enter basic trip parameters such as departuredate, time and city, arrival date, time and city, and hotel and carrequirements. The traveler 86 will input in a batch all the travelrequirements (air, hotel, car) grouped by segment. The build itineraryprocess 100 via communication with CRS 30 displays flight availabilitydata 108, fare data 110 and highlights preferred vendor data from thecorporate travel policy 112. The traveler 86 is able to make only oneselection from the availability data 108 for each segment. The traveler86 can change selection if desired using the display window. Asselections are made, an in-process itinerary will be built and displayedto the traveler 86 showing information as it is selected or adding towhat has been previously selected. The in-process itinerary will displaythe associated cost of each item as well as a running total of theentire trip, including air, hotel, car and a grand total.

From the availability data 108, the traveler 86 may request a list ofpreferred hotels in the destination city. The display will highlightwhich hotels can be booked via CRS 30 access and also those that wouldneed to be contacted directly. The traveler 86 can request availabilityat one or more of the preferred hotels. The build itinerary process 100also allows display of preferred chains as well as preferred hotelsspecified to a city location which are stored in the local propertytable 114.

The traveler 86 may request a list of preferred rental car vendorsthrough CRS 30. Special negotiated rates for a vendor in a specific citystored in local car table 116, when present, will override the datareturned from CRS 30. The build intinerary process 100 returns a queuedPNR 118 including air, hotel and car requirements to CRS 30.

The trip planning process 68 further comprises the authorized triprequest process 120. The authorized trip request process 120 providesfor the routing of the trip request form to the appropriate authorizer(not pictured) and provides the authorization utility. Once authorized,the traveler 86 is notified of the authorization electronically. Actualrouting of the trip request form is determined in the authorizationtable 122 and the travel policy table 98. The routing may be to aspecific person or a specific manager position. The trip request form iselectronically signed for the traveler 86 before it is routed forapproval. The approver is able to review a version of the trip requestform that allows the approver to view the completed itinerary, the cost,the purpose for the trip and the remarks fields. The approver is alsoable to review the traveler's 86 request for a travel cash advance.

If the approver does not approve the request, the authorized triprequest process 120 requires that the approver input a description ofthe reason for disapproval. The trip request is then routed back to theoriginator of the request. If the originator was a travel arranger, acopy of the disapproval will be sent to the traveler 86. If the approverdoes approve the request, it is routed to the next processing step, forexample, travel agency 26. The trip request form is electronicallysigned for the approver whether the request is approved or disapproved.

Another feature of the trip planning 68 is the cancel booking process124. which allows the traveler 86 a quick means of cancelling a bookedtrip from the client workstation 12. The cancelled booking process 124displays an abbreviated list of all booked trip records whose departuredate is equal to or greater than today's system date. The traveler 86receives stored trip data 126 from the trip table 128 and may select astored trip to cancel from the list. Once a cancelled trip button isactivated on the screen, the traveler 86 may send cancellation data 130to the CRS 30. A response from the CRS 30 will be displayed back to thetraveler 86 confirming the cancellation is complete.

Now referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram representing the update statictables process 70 of FIG. 3 is presented. All of the corporation'sstatic tables are presumably part of the corporate centric client-serversystem 38 implementation process. Each corporation defines the statictables in order to start using the corporate centric client-serversystem 38. Typically, a system administrator inputs the update travelpolicy data 132, the update exception codes data 134, the updateprojects data 136, the update reason codes data 138, the update GLaccounts data 140, the update department information data 142, theupdate category data 144, the update budget figures data 146, the updateaccounting periods data 148, the update expense policy data 150, theupdate employment profile data 152, the update company profile data 154,the travel policy table 98, the exception codes table 158, the projecttable 160, the validation error codes table 162, the GL accounts table164, the department table 166, the expense categories table 168, thebudget figures table 170, the accounting period table 172, the expensepolicy table 174, the employee profile table 94, and the company profiletable 178, each of which are part of the larger corporate database 18.All static tables 70 have the ability to add new records, updateexisting records, and delete unused records.

Now referring to FIG. 6, the system administrator may update the statictable 70 by inputting the update airline agreements data 180, the updatecarrier codes data 182, the update city/airport codes data 184, theupdate currency exchange rates data 186, the update car table data 190,the update property table data 192, the update chain codes data 194, theupdate currency codes data 196, and the update other codes data 198,respectively updating the airline agreements table 200, the carriercodes table 202, the city/airport codes table 204, the currency exchangetable 206, the local car table table 116, the local property table 114,the chain code table 212, the currency code table 214, and the othercodes table 216, each of which are part of the corporate database 18.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram detailing the interface manager72 of FIG. 3 is depicted. The interface manager 72 involves processingCRS 30 data which consists of five distinct processes: the drive GDSquery process 218, the pull apart PNR process 220, the validate datafields process 222, the check policy process 224, and the modify triprecord process 226. The drive GDS query process 218 resides on the CRSSupersaver 34 and serves to retrieve the GDS data 64 for each PNR. Afterthe GDS data 64 is retrieved, the GDS data 64 is forwarded to thecorporate database 18 where the parsing of the stream is performed andthe trip is inserted into the interface manager table 228.

The pull-apart PNR process 220 reads GDS data 64 and maps the CRSelements to the interface manager table 228.

The validate data fields process 222 ensures the integrity of the databeing inserted into the trip table 128. An incomplete PNR or a PNRcontaining a value that cannot be found in the static tables 70 will berejected by the validate datafields process 222 and the queued forreprocessing through CRS 30. The PNR's which pass the validation datafields process 222 are assigned a unique trip number that does notalready exist in the trip table 128 and such valid trips are insertedinto the trip table 128.

The check policy process 224 has a heirachical order of application, forexample, project policy takes precedence over employee policy and anegotiated hotel rate takes precedence over a company-preferred vendor.In the check policy process 224, each policy violation is flagged andthe violation is assigned a code type based upon the nature of theviolation. Depending upon how the violation is set up in the policyrecord, the violation will either simply be an item on a report, or itmay be queued to an individual specified in the employee or projectrecord for approval or rejection. The status of the violation is storedwithin the policy exception table 230. Data from trip table 128 iscompared against data from the travel policy table 98, the local cartable table 116, the local property table 114, and the airline agreementtable 200. If the check policy process 224 finds any violations, a codefrom the exception code table 158 is applied and then stored in thepolicy exceptions table 230.

The modify trip record process 226 allows the traveler 86 to maintainnon-purged PNR's in the interface manager table 228. Maintenance mayoccur at two levels, a high-level delete of detail older than aspecified date, or a modification utility which allows fixes to fieldssuch as project I.D. which, once repaired, will enable the PNR topopulate the trip table 128.

Now referring to FIG. 8, a detailed block diagram of the pre-tripmanagement 74 of FIG. 3 is pictured. The analyze vendor goal shareprocess 232 imports data from the local car table 116, the airlineagreements table 200, the local property table 114, and the trip table128. The analyze vendor goal share process 232 analyzes each preferredairline vendor on a specified city pair and divides the number ofsegments booked on that airline by the total number of segments bookedand compares the obtained percentage with the share agreement for thatairline.

The review and approve exceptions process 234 imports data from the triptable 128, the exception table table 238, and the department roll-uptable 236 and creates exception reporting for the overall corporation,an overall cost center, an individual, trend analysis, year-to-datetotals, and chronic policy violators.

The destination analysis by date process 240 uses data from the triptable 128 and reports to the corporate travel manager all destinationcities where multiple travelers 86 will be traveling on a given date ordate range for the purpose of managing opportunities for obtaining zonefares or discounted group hotel rates.

The analyze booked versus budgeted travel and entertainment expenseprocess 242 imports data from the trip table 128 and travel and expensebudget table 244 to show projected cost of booked trips, a comparisonbetween booked and budgeted expenses, and a trend analysis forforecasting if the travel budget will be met based upon trends.

The query unauthorized trips process 246 imports data from thedepartment roll-up table 236 and trip table 128 to provide departmentmanagers or corporate travel managers information regarding unauthorizedtrips that require either authorization or cancellation. Departmentmanagers or Corporate Travel Managers may either cancel or authorizetrips and electronic notification of cancelled trips will be sent to thetraveler 86.

The exception trends report process 250 imports data from the departmentroll-up table 236, the exception table 238, the trip table 128, theaccounting periods table 172, and the calendar year table 248. Theexception trends report process 250 provides a trend analysis of travelpolicy exceptions for a defined time frame. Both written and graphicalreports show trends of exceptions by individual, by type, and bydepartment as well as the known costs of those exceptions.

The vendor chain analysis process 252 imports data from the trip table128, the chain codes table 212, the accounting periods table 172 and thecalendar year table 248 and provides an analysis of the booked plusactual activity for a specific date range for a given hotel or carchain. The output includes a total transaction count for number ofroom/nights or car/days plus a summary of the dollar value of eachtransaction as well as an average room/car nights per booking andaverage daily rates.

Now referring to FIG. 9, a detailed block diagram of the utilityfunctions 76 of FIG. 3 is depicted. The import back office data process254 creates an electronic handoff of data from agency back office system256 such as ADS or TravelBase, at a defined frequency. The import backoffice data process 254 is a means by which agency invoice numbersassociated with tickets, refunds or exchanges are obtained by thecorporate database 18.

The extract summary trip data process 258 provides nightly updates tothe trip table 128 and provides data to the summary air trip table 260and summary city trip table 262.

The archive/delete expense detail process 264 allows input of dateparameters such that select expense detailed records that match dateparameters are purged from the expense detail table 266 and placed inthe archive expense table 268.

The archive/delete trip detailed process 270 allows input of the dateparameters such that select trip records that match date parameters arepurged from the trip table 128 and placed in the archive table 272.

Now turning to FIG. 10, a detailed block diagram of the expensereporting 80 from FIG. 3 is pictured. The create expense form process274 provides secured access to the expense forms, autofills the formswith data from the employee profile table 94 and allows the traveler 86to construct an expense report semi-automatically as well as by pullingstored data from the trip table 128. The create expense form process 274imports data from the expense category table 168, the expense policytable 174, and the travel policy table 98 and provides this informationto the traveler 86 so that the traveler 86 can construct a policycompliant expense report.

The create expense form process 274 also imports data from the currencyexchange table and allows the traveler 86 to process currency exchangeconversions. When the traveler 86 has completed the expense report, afilled expense form is electronically forwarded to the expense formtable 276, where it is assigned a unique expense form number. The numberis assigned the first time an expense form is saved. The number isassociated with a optional receipt envelope which may be printed at anytime after the initial saving of the expense report has taken place.There is also a traveler reference number to support pre-bar codedenvelopes for receipts.

The update expense form process 278 allows the traveler 86 to modify orcancel an expense report. The traveler 86 may import expense form datafrom expense form table 276 and modify an expense form until it has beenapproved or may pull up disapproved expense forms for modification andresubmission. An unsubmitted or disapproved expense report may also becancelled.

The perform validations process 280 checks an expense form against datafrom the travel policy table 98 to identify unapproved policyviolations. Policy violations on the expense form are highlighted andthe approver has access to explanations for each of the errant fields.The approver will be able to approve the violations or return the formto the traveler 86 with comments.

The approve expense form process 282 comprises two methods of expenseapproval. First, the manager level approval gives the manager the optionof rejecting an expense form if, for example, it exceeds the dataprovided from the average cost table 284. If the manager rejects theexpense form, it can be routed back to the traveler 86 with comments. Ifthe manager approves the expense form, it is routed to the AccountsPayable 286 for further processing. All approved expense data is alsorouted to the expense totals table 288. In the second case, thecorporation can define situations when approval will be automatic andthe expense form is routed directly to the Accounts Payable department286.

Now turning to FIG. 11, a detailed block diagram of the post-tripmanagement 82 of FIG. 3 is depicted. The analyze air usage process 290imports data from the trip table 128, the airline agreements table 200,and the summary air city table 292. The analyze air usage process 290reports the percentage of goal share achieved for a specified city paircarrier, percent of goal share achieved for a carrier overall, overallusage for a given city pair, overall air cost for a given city pair, andaverage leg fare cost for a given city pair.

The analyze car usage process 294 imports data from the local car table116, the trip table 128 and the summary trip table 296. The analyze carusage process 294 reports percent of goal share achieved for specifiedchain in a specified city, percent of goal share achieved for chainoverall, overall usage for a given city, overall car dollar spent in agiven city, overall chain usage, and average car rental day cost in eachcity. The analyze hotel usage process 298 imports data from the localproperty table 114, the summary trip table 296 and the trip table 128.

The analyze hotel usage process 298 reports percent of goal shareachieved for a specified hotel chain in a specified city, percent ofgoal share achieved for a chain overall, overall usage for a given city,overall hotel dollars spent in a given city, overall chain usage, andaverage hotel night cost in each city.

The analyze policy exceptions process 300 imports data from the expensetable 288, the expense category table 168, the department roll-up table302, the trip table 128, the employee/department table 304, the travelpolicy table 98, and the exception data and summaries table 306. Theanalyze policy exceptions process 300 creates on request reports, forexample, for monthly reporting of exceptions by employee and by type,overall monthly exception trends by employee and type, overall monthlyexception trends by department and type, and overall exceptions by typeand monthly trends.

The analyze expenses process 308 imports data from the expense summariestable 310, the expense table 288, the expense category table 168, thedepartment roll-up table 302, the employee/department table 304, and thetravel and expense budget table 244. The analyze expenses process 308creates a report that shows trends by overall company, summary bydepartment, summary by project, and summary by employee.

The ticket tracking process 312 imports data from the trip table 128 andthe expense trip table 314. The ticket tracking process 312 reports onthe status of any given ticket, lists tickets older than a given numberof days that have not appeared on an expense report or been refunded orvoided, lists tickets returned for refund which have not been credited,and reports unrefunded tickets or miscellaneous change orders availablefor exchange.

Now turning to FIG. 12, a detailed block diagram of post-trip management82 of FIG. 3 is detailed. The analyze employee expenses process 316,uses data from the expense employee summary table 318, the average coststable 284, the expense category table 168, the city/airport codes table204, and the employee profile table 94. The analyze employee expenseprocess 316 summarizes for a given time period employee expenses bycategory as well as shows trends in employee expenses by category.

The analyze company expenses process 318 uses data from the companyprofile table 178, the average costs table 284, the expense categorytable 168, the city/airport codes table 204, the department table 320,the project detail table 322, the expense project summary table 324, theexpense company summary table 326, the department roll-up table 302, andthe travel and expense budget table 244. The analyze company expensesprocess 318 creates a summary for a given time period of companyexpenses by category and by project as well as trends in companyexpenses by project and by category.

The analyze department expenses process 328 imports data from theemployee profile table 94, the city/airport codes table 204, the expensedepartment summary table 330, the department table 320, the projectdetail table 322, the expense project summary table 324, the departmentroll-up table 302, the travel and the expense budget table 244, theexpense table 288, the average costs table 284, and the expense categorytable 168. The analyze department expenses process 328 creates a summaryfor a given time period of departmental expenses by category and byproject. The analyze department expenses process 328 also reports trendsin departmental expenses by category and by project.

Now turning to FIG. 13, a detailed block diagram of another aspect ofthe post-trip management 82 of FIG. 3 is depicted. The employee trippolicy violations process 330 imports data from employee trip exceptionthe summary table 332, the carrier codes table 202, the trip exceptiontable 334, the travel policy table 98, the expense detail table 336, thetrip table 128, the car type codes table 338, the chain codes table 212,the city/airport codes table 204, the exception codes table 158, theexpense category table 168, and the employee profile table 94. Theemployee trip policy violations process 330 creates a summary for agiven time period of employee trip violations by category and violationtrends by category.

The department trip violations process 340 imports data from thedepartment trip exception summary table 342, the travel policy table 98,and the city/airport codes table 204. The department trip policyviolations process 340 creates a summary for a given time period ofdepartment trip violations by category and reports trends in departmenttrip violations.

The department expense policy violations process 344 uses data from thecity/airport codes table 204, the exception codes table 158, the expensecategory table 168, the average costs table 284, the expense policytable 174, the department expense exception summary table 348, thecompany expense exception summary table 350, and the department table320. The department expense policy violations process 344 creates asummary for a given time period of departmental expense policyviolations by category and trends in departmental expense policyviolations. The employee expense violations process 352 uses data fromthe employee profile data base 94, the average costs table 284, theexpense policy table 174, the expense detail table 346, the expenseexplanations table 354, the expense policy exceptions table 356, thecompany expense exception summary table 350, and the employee expenseexception summary table 358. The employee expense violations process 352creates a summary for a given time period of employee expense violationsby category and trends in employee expense violations.

Now turning to FIG. 14, which consists of FIG. 14A-14X, which aredrawings that depict graphical user interfaces for trip planning module68 as described above in reference to FIG. 4. The traveler 86 places acursor 360 on the New Trip icon 362 and energizes the New Trip icon 362.The traveler 86 then enters the purpose of the trip and charge centerfor the trip and purpose of trip in the Charge Center window 364 thenenergizes Okay button 366 with cursor 360. The traveler 86 selectsorigination and destination data in Flight Request-Segment 1 window 368and energizes the Search button 370 with the cursor 360. The traveler 86selects a flight from the Flight List window 372 which makes a record ofthe flight in the Trip Activity Log 374 and the Calendar 376. Thetraveler 86 selects the Continuing Trip icon 378 and selects anorigination and destination in the Flight Request-Segment 2 window 380.The traveler 86 selects flight data from the Flight List window 82 and arecord of the selected flight is made in the Trip Activity Log 374 andthe Calendar 376.

The traveler 86 selects the Hotel icon 384. From the Hotel RequestInformation window 386, the traveler 86 may search for hotels in thedestination city. The traveler 86 selects from a list of hotels from theHotel List window 388. A record of the hotel selection is made in theTrip Activity Log 374 and on the Calendar 376.

The traveler 86 may select the Rental Car icon 390 to see the CarRequest Information window 392. After energizing the Search button 394,the traveler 86 receives a list of available cars and prices in thedestination city from the Car List window 396. After the traveler 86selects a car, a record of the car selected is made in the Trip ActivityLog 374 and on the Calendar 376.

The traveler 86 selects the Cost icon 398 to view the Trip PriceInformation window 400. From the Trip Price Information window 400, thetraveler 86 may search for cheaper flights by energizing the Search forCheaper Flights button 402 which brings up the BargainFinderPlusParameters window 404. From the BargainFinderPlus Parameters window 404,the traveler 86 may search for cheaper flights by selecting from a menuof parameters. After completing the search, results are displayed fromthe BargainFinderPlus Search Results window 406 from which the traveler86 may select from a menu of flights. The traveler 86 may select adifferent flight by energizing Yes button 408 in the Replace FlightsMessage window 410. A record of this transaction is made by updating theTrip Activity Log 374 and the Calendar 376.

The traveler 86 may confirm ticketing by energizing the ConfirmTicketing icon 412. From the Confirmation-Ticket Delivery window 414,the traveler 86 may choose a method for obtaining tickets by energizingOkay button 416. The travel Itinerary window 418 is then displayed forthe traveler 86.

The traveler 86 may create a reservation by pressing the Finish icon420. If the traveler 86 wishes to finish the reservation process andsend it on to the travel agency for processing, the traveler 86 mayenergize Yes button 422 in the Finish Reservations window 424. Theresulting display shows the the Trip Activity Log 374 and the Calendar376 with current travel information.

Now turning to FIG. 15, which consists of FIG. 15A-15G, which arediagrams of graphical user interfaces for repeat trip planning asdescribed above in reference to FIG. 4. The traveler 86 energizes theFrequent Trip icon 426 to receive a menu of frequent trips in theFrequent Trip window 428. The traveler 86 then requests additionaldetails from a selected frequent trip by energizing the Details button430. If the appropriate frequent trip was selected, the traveler 86energizes Okay button 432 from the Frequent Trip Details window 434. Thetraveler 86 then energizes the Select Trip button 436 from the FrequentTrip window 428. The traveler 86 then inputs the date on which travelwill begin and energizes the Reserve button 438 in the Frequent TripDates window 440. As this information is being processed, the FrequentTrip-Reserving window 442 is viewed by the traveler 86. If Cancel button444 is not depressed, the Frequent Trip Completed window 446 isdisplayed and the traveler 86 finishes the reservation process byenergizing Yes button 448.

Now turning to FIG. 16, which consists of FIG. 16A-16M, which arediagrams of graphical user interfaces for creating an expense report asdescribed above in reference to FIG. 10. The traveler 86 selects NewExpense Report icon 450 or Modify Expense Report icon 452 from theExpense Report window 454 which shows the status of saved expensereports in an Expense Report Log window 456. Energizing the New ExpenseReport icon 450 or the Modify Expense Report icon 452 brings up theExpense Data Range window 458, from which the traveler 86 enters or thecorporate database 18 autofills date, project and purpose of thetrip/expense parameters. The traveler 86 then energizes the Okay bottom460 to view the Air Item Detail window 462 from which the traveler 86enters or the corporate database 18 autofills charge parameters for theselected city pair 464. The traveler 86 may also enter an explanation ofexpenses in the Explanation window 466.

The traveler 86 then energizes the Okay bottom 468 to view the Car ItemDetail window 470 from which the traveler 86 enters or the corporatedatabase 18 autofills car rental and car receipt parameters. Thecorporate database 18 also provides corporate policy data 472 to thetraveler 86. The traveler 86 then energizes the Okay bottom 474 to viewthe Hotel Item Detail window 476 from which the traveler 86 enters orthe corporate database 18 autofills hotel booking and hotel receiptparameters. The traveler 86 then energizes the Okay bottom 478 to viewthe Meals Detail window 480 from which the traveler 86 enters or thecorporate database 18 autofills reimbursement parameters. The traveler86 then energizes the Okay bottom 478 to view the Business EntertainmentDetail window 484 from which the traveler 86 enters or the corporatedatabase 18 autofills entertainment parameters. To return to the ExpenseReport window 454, the traveler 86 energizes the Okay button 486.

The traveler 488 may select the Calculate Totals icon 488 to bring upthe Calculate Totals window 490. Expense are totaled by date or by typefor the traveler 86. The traveler 86 may also input paymentinstructions.

The traveler 86 may check for policy compliance by energizing the CheckPolicy button 492 from the Calculate Totals window 490 of the CheckPolicy icon 494 from the Expense Report window 454. The traveler 86views the Check Policy Compliance window 496 while the system does apolicy check. The traveler 86 may request explanation of policyviolations by energizing the View Exceptions button 498. The traveler 86may also energizing the Okay button 500 to view the expense report inExpense Report window 502. The traveler 86 submits the expense reportfor approval by energizing the Submit for Approval icon 504.

Although the invention has been described in detail, it is to be clearlyunderstood that the same is by way of illustration and example only andis not to be taken by way of limitation, the spirit and scope of theinvention being limited only to the terms of the appended claim.

1. A client-server system for corporate travel planning, expensereporting and travel management comprising: a computerized reservationsystem; a relational database server communicably linked to thecomputerized reservation system; and a travel planning, expensereporting and travel management system resident within a personalcomputer providing a graphical user interface for communication betweenthe computer user, the travel planning, expense reporting and travelmanagement system and the relational database server.
 2. Theclient-server system for corporate travel planning, expense reportingand travel management as recited in claim 1 wherein the relationaldatabase server stores traveler and corporate profiles which interfacebetween the travel planning, expense reporting and travel managementsystem and the computerized reservation system.
 3. The client-serversystem for corporate travel planning, expense reporting and travelmanagement as recited in claim 1 wherein the travel planning, expensereporting and travel management system further comprises a travelplanning module and a travel expense reporting module.
 4. Theclient-server system for corporate travel planning, expense reportingand travel management as recited in claim 3 wherein the travel planningmodule includes means for automated approval of travel requests beforetravel expenses are incurred.
 5. The client-server system for corporatetravel planning, expense reporting and travel management as recited inclaim 3 wherein the travel planning module includes a series ofgraphical user interfaces for the planning and booking of a non-routinetrip including air, hotel and car accommodations.
 6. The client-serversystem for corporate travel planning, expense reporting and travelmanagement as recited in claim 3 wherein the travel planning moduleincludes a series of graphical user interfaces for the planning andbooking of a repeat trip including air, hotel and car accommodations. 7.The client-server system for corporate travel planning, expensereporting and travel management as recited in claim 3 wherein the travelexpense reporting module further comprises means for automated expensereport approval.
 8. The client-server system for corporate travelplanning, expense reporting and travel management as recited in claim 3wherein the travel expense reporting module further comprises means forautomated expense report approval.
 9. The client-server system forcorporate travel planning, expense reporting and travel management asrecited in claim 3 wherein the travel expense reporting module includesa series of graphical user interfaces for providing corporate policyinformation from the relational database server.
 10. The client-serversystem for corporate travel planning, expense reporting and travelmanagement as recited in claim 3 wherein the travel expense reportingmodule includes a series of graphical user interfaces that arepre-populated with trip data from the relational database server. 11.The client-server system for corporate travel planning, expensereporting and travel management as recited in claim 3 wherein the travelplanning, expense reporting and travel management system furthercomprises a travel decision maker module that incorporates informationfrom the trip planning module and the expense reporting module forproviding pre-travel and post-travel reporting.
 12. A method forcorporate travel planning, expense reporting and travel managementutilizing a personal computer communicably linked to a relationaldatabase server that is communicably linked to a computerizedreservation system that provides travel information from thecomputerized reservation system to the relational database server andthe travel planning, expense reporting and travel management system thatcomprises the steps of: preparing a travel request; obtaining approvalfor travel; preparing an expense report; and obtaining approval for theexpense report.
 13. The method for corporate travel planning, expensereporting and travel management as recited in claim 12 wherein the stepof preparing a travel request further comprises the steps of: energizinga new trip icon; providing corporate policy data from the relationaldatabase; specifying a purpose for the trip; selecting an originationpoint and a destination point; selecting a flight time to travel fromthe origination point and the destination point; selecting a flight timefor the return flight from the destination point to the originationpoint; creating a record of the flight information; energizing a hotelicon; requesting hotel information; selection a hotel; creating a recordof the hotel information; energizing a car icon; requesting carinformation; selection a car; creating a record of the car information;energizing a cost icon; searching for a cheaper flight; selecting acheaper flight; and sending the travel request to a travel agency forbooking.
 14. The method for corporate travel planning, expense reportingand travel management as recited in claim 12 wherein the step ofpreparing a travel request further comprises the steps of: energizing afrequent trip icon; selecting a frequent trip; inputting a date for thetrip; and sending the travel request to a travel agency for booking. 15.The method for corporate travel planning, expense reporting and travelmanagement as recited in claim 12 wherein the step of obtaining approvalfor travel further comprises the steps of: electronically sending thetravel request to an approver; providing the approver with corporatepolicy data from the relational database; electronically approving thetravel request; and electronically notifying the traveler of approval.16. The method for corporate travel planning, expense reporting andtravel management as recited in claim 12 wherein the step of preparingan expense report further comprises the steps of: energizing a newexpense report icon; specifying the date and purpose of the expense;detailing the air, car, hotel, meal and business entertainment expenses;calculating expense totals; checking for corporate policy compliance;creating an expense report; and electronically routing the expensereport for approval.
 17. The method for corporate travel planning,expense reporting and travel management as recited in claim 12 whereinthe step of obtaining approval for the expense report further comprisesthe steps of: electronically sending the expense report to an approver;providing the approver with corporate policy data from the relationaldatabase; electronically approving the the expense report; andelectronically notifying the traveler of approval.
 18. A client-serversystem for corporate travel planning, expense reporting and travelmanagement comprising: a computerized reservation system; a relationaldatabase server communicably linked to the computerized reservationsystem; and a travel planning, expense reporting and travel managementsystem resident within a personal computer providing a graphical userinterface for communication between the computer user, the travelplanning, expense reporting and travel management system and therelational database server, the travel planning, expense reporting andtravel management system comprising a travel planning module, a travelexpense reporting module and a travel decision maker module, the travelplanning module includes means for automated approval of travel requestsbefore travel expenses are incurred and a series of graphical userinterfaces for the planning and booking of routine and non-routine tripsincluding air, hotel and car accommodations, the travel expensereporting module includes means for automated expense report approvaland means for automated expense report approval and routing, and thetravel decision maker module incorporates information from the tripplanning module and the expense reporting module for providingpre-travel and post-travel reporting.
 19. The client-server system forcorporate travel planning, expense reporting and travel management asrecited in claim 18 wherein the relational database server storestraveler and corporate profiles which interfaces between the travelplanning, expense reporting and travel management system and thecomputerized reservation system.